A few days later, after all the preparations were finally finished Orvus finally returned home but not as the overshadowed young prince he once came to be known as, but as a protector of the common people, a true beacon of nobility as the people spoke of him
This was something that took Viktor by quite a surprise because the brother he knew, sure could be quite noble but until now nobody cared to acknowledge it, so he started to question if anything changed
But before he could get lost in his thoughts came time for the feast, in a large decorated hall inside the palace, Viktor was already waiting for his brother at the large table filled with various expensive food in the middle of the room when it came to Orvus as extravagantly as always then the brothers finally sat next to each other and started conversing
"Greetings brother, so what is it that I hear about you being all heroic and chivalrous, care to fill me in?"
"So you have also heard of it, I am honestly not entirely sure myself, you see:"
Then Orvus started describing how on his travels he stumbled upon a run-down village by the borders
Where he saw a group of six hooded figures leaving the village, but as he watched them he noticed that one of the figures was being pushed to walk, like a prisoner being led to a cell so he instinctively stopped them with a shout, and as he walked closer he asked
"Is everything all right" but the moment they noticed that Orvus was wearing light armor underneath his hood and that a short sword was hanging next to his leg, the five of them without hesitation pulled out the daggers they had hidden underneath their hoods and the last person just fell to their knees, tears dripping to their knees
At that moment Orvus knew he stumbled upon a case of kidnapping, so he pulled out his short sword dashing at his opponents, and even though they outnumbered him five to one they were still just amateurs and couldn't compete against his superior technique and strength, thus in the end, Orvus emerged victorious with only a few shallow cuts
When he finished he walked towards the last hooded figure and pulled up their hood revealing a young woman with blond hair, who turned out to be the daughter of a very popular carpenter in the region
One day a group of bandits came to him and demanded he hand him the money he received for making furniture for a nobleman's house, but when he refused they decided to take his daughter to set an example for disobeying them
But then when they left the village they met Orvus thus meeting their end, and through some, to unknown source, his reputation as a hero of commoners soared
"I don't wish to be rude but, is that it?" Asked Victor "Yes that is it, but even I am not as blind as to not feel like the fame does not measure up to the deed, stopping something common as a kidnapping, it almost seems suspicious, anyway I also heard an interesting rumor on my way here."
Viktor sighs after seeing Orvuses mischievous grin and reluctantly asks
"So what is it that you heard Orvus?"
"Oh, just an interesting rumor about how the emperor spends whole nights closed in his office with his assistant, and how exhausted they always come out the next morning, something you want to tell me, brother?" Suddenly Viktor gets a bit flustered and his face has a tint of red as he says in a serious tone
"Oh, very funny, as if you didn't know that we spend whole nights writing documents and discussing plans for the future"
"Don't get so flustered on me, she is like our sister, I am just joking, but seriously don't overwork yourselves too much, a slow emperor is still better than an exhausted one"
"I know, I know, I won't."
After that, the brothers discussed the affairs of the empire until Orvus became so drunk he could no longer coherently speak, and Victor returned to his room.